Two Black Arrows
by Adulas
Summary: The war over the One Ring is over. However, for the victors one more daunting adventure awaits them. This story is my alternative ending to the events protrayed in the ROTK book and movie.
1. Chapter 1 Two Black Arrows

**Two Black Arrows**

**Chapter 1 – Two Black Arrows**

Over the years, Aragorn had fearlessly gone toe to toe with the enemy and had on occasion spoken about some of his more memorable encounters if prompted enough.

However, he had never imagined a time when he would be lying partially pinned under said toes and the huge troll's foot they belonged to as was the case this day while he fought before Mordor's Black Gates.

As for his speaking, if ever about this embarrassing predicament he knew he would have to end it quickly.

Then he spied Legolas taking aim at the troll's head despite having one black orc arrow embedded in the front of his right shoulder and another in his chest the latter perilously close to his heart.

Now desperate to free himself for his friend's sake, Aragorn swiftly removed his curved bladed knife and tried to sink it deep into the tough and wart covered skin on top of the troll's foot.

At the same time, Legolas had fired his arrow the result leading to a now dead troll with an arrow through its brain via one eye socket. This in turn slowly toppled the creature over backward during which freed Aragorn and allowed him to scramble out of the way first on hands and knees and then on his feet.

Suddenly strong tremors shook the ground and a chaotic retreat broke out amongst the Mordor horde while Sauron's tower crumbled into ruin, as did the gates before they fell into the huge fissures opening under them.

Minutes later Mount Doom exploded and the earlier cheers for Frodo that had risen as the tower crumbled ceased in an instant when they realized the brave hobbit could not possibly survive such a fiery cataclysm.

In the meantime, Aragorn ignored the overwhelming and compelling nature to stand and watch all of this destruction and to think what it meant for Frodo and Sam while he ran over to Legolas.

"I've got you," he said to the elf as he slipped one arm around his friend's waist in order to help support the weakening elf who had been trying to sidestep the cracking ground next to him.

"Save yourself…it is over for me," Legolas whispered back his breathing akin to a gasping fish out of water due to the intense pain keeping him from drawing in a normal amount of air.

"No it is not!" Aragorn firmly asserted before he guided his friend to stable ground well away from the growing canyon. By then Legolas' legs gave out on him, which forced the man to cut the leather quiver straps so he could remove it before he gently lowered the elf down onto his back since the two arrows prevented him from carrying his friend over his shoulders.

"Aragorn…behind you…" the elf suddenly warned.

Quickly the man got to his feet and turned with sword held at the ready. However, the fast approaching orcs twenty in all only had escape on their minds and continued past the two friends as if they were not there at all which gave the encounter a surreal quality despite the seriousness of it.

"Leave me now…it is not safe…"

"Legolas I am not about to do that!" Aragorn argued back while he scanned the battlefield for help. When he spied Gandalf, he waved his sword until it caught the wizard's attention. After that, he slipped it back into its scabbard before he knelt along side the elf.

"Aragorn…"

"Save your strength my friend. This is one argument you are not going to win," the man, pleaded while he made quick work at unhooking the belt that held the elf's leather jerkin closed. The fact that much blood had already made its way out onto it from around the arrow shafts gave him a good idea of the worst-case scenario lying under it.

Then he used his knife to cut slits in the jerkin so he could fold it back without disturbing the arrows. This revealed the jerkin's blood soaked inner lining as well as a larger area of red under it since the elf's blue silk tunic was quicker to absorb it.

Exactly what he thought would be there and for the first time Aragorn began to feel in the pit of his stomach the sick feeling he might not be able to stop what the two-orc arrows had started.

When he next glanced at Legolas' pale face he saw, the elf had closed his eyes and the man hoped that meant his stubborn friend had finally decided to do as told although previous experience did not guarantee it just yet.

"What can we do to help?" a concerned Gandalf asked a few seconds later after he, Gimli, Merry, Pippin, and Éomer had gathered around. Behind them, a ring of men formed to protect from the fleeing enemy just in case they decided to attack instead.

"Ideally I should remove those arrows now but the continuing threats from the death throes of Mordor make it impossible for him to stay immobile afterwards. This means I need a litter of some sort to carry him back to the safety amongst the same trees where we hid the supply wagons."

"Spears lashed together to create the thickness of litter poles with the army's banners stretched between might work," Éomer suggested thoughtfully.

"I'm willing to give anything a try right now," Aragorn encouraged.

With so many willing hands available, the construction of Éomer's litter idea only took a small amount of time to create during which Aragorn carefully closed the jerkin around the arrows.

"I will look after the Laddie's weapons," Gimli offered solemnly while he picked up the up until now the neglected quiver and bow.

This earned the dwarf a slow appearing smile of approval from Legolas, which quickly vanished when Aragorn, Éomer, and several men gently lifted up, and then placed the elf onto the litter.

"Soon my friend I will be able to ease that for you," Aragorn promised while he met Legolas' gaze. Then he took his friend's hand in his as a way to comfort him through the additional pain the movement had caused. The fact he had uttered no other sound except for louder gasps was a testament to the elf's toughness, which the man hoped, would still be in existence when the time came to remove the arrows.

When Legolas' breathing quieted, somewhat Aragorn took that as a sign the pain had lessen enough for the litter bearers to lift him up slowly and carefully together.

Fortunately, this did not further the elf's current level of pain and despite some ominous creaking from the lashed together spears and a brief sound of ripping fabric, the litter continued to hold together.

Then the march to the wagons began.


	2. Chapter 2 Disturbing Discoveries

**Two Black Arrows**

**Chapter 2 – Disturbing Discoveries**

When Legolas slipped into unconsciousness mid-way into the march, Aragorn struggled to control the surge of panic this caused since it meant his friend's continuous loss of blood now threatened the elf's life.

However, the sight of wagons ransacked by orcs turned that panic to utter despair due to his counting on using the medicinal and fresh water supplies contained within some of them.

"Lay Legolas over there in the shade of those beech trees and everyone else search those wagons for anything they left behind!" he ordered desperately while he began to divest himself of his weapons and armor so he could remove the arrows unhindered. Something now made more difficult for him and possibly deadlier for his friend.

"Now the orcs pay attention to us!" Éomer spat out angrily before he joined in the search.

"Orcs ability to time their devilry for maximum affect did not become legendary overnight," Gandalf, said the same time a familiar large moth flew past him and drew his attention back to the glowing red and ash filled eastern horizon.

"Legolas cannot withstand any more of their legend," Aragorn countered angrily. Then he noticed the wizard's thoughtful gaze and instantly realized what else was on his mind. "Do you still have hope that Frodo and Sam are alive?"

"Yes although it could only be a fool's hope," Gandalf said cautiously his attention now on the approaching three eagles.

"Then go and look my friend. There is nothing more you can do here for Legolas and me," Aragorn urged.

The sight of the wizard accepting a ride from one of the three huge eagles after it had landed caused quite a stir amongst the men until one of their number yelled excitedly about finding the bundle containing the medicinal supplies.

Without hesitation, Aragorn directed a fire built far enough away from the edge of the shade cast by the beeches in order to keep as much of its smoke from rising up through their branches and thus offend them.

"I don't know if beeches here in the south have a healing connection to elves but if you do my friend could use your help," he whispered in elvish to the nearest tree.

"We are fortunate the orcs did not spoiling what they did not take," Éomer reported as he filled the small black cauldron with clean water from a skin before he hung it on its pole now angled over the fledgling fire.

"Merry and Pippin I'm putting you two in charge of the cauldron. When the water feels warm to the touch, I want half of these herbs in this pouch added to it and then keep stirring it with this spoon until it thickens into a stiff paste. Then let me know," the man instructed the same time he handed a book sized brown leather pouch and wooden spoon to Pippin after he had removed it from the bundle of medicine.

"What are we making?" the curious hobbit asked.

"It's a poultice to stop the bleeding and to ward off infection. Éomer I want you and Gimli to hold Legolas' arms and legs down during the removal just in case the pain from it wakes him," Aragorn continued while he took out his smaller knife and laid it on the edge of the fire so only the flames licked the blade clean.

Then he moved over to Legolas, knelt by his side, and without hesitation, he used his curved knife to cut the elf free from his leather jerkin and tunic so both would not be in his way. The back pieces he left under his friend for now.

After that, he and those with him could do nothing more but wait for the poultice something they all found to be nearly unbearable due to the feeling that time had slowed to a crawl.

"It's ready Aragorn!" Merry finally exclaimed to everyone's relief.

Quickly Éomer took a firm hold on Legolas' arms while Gimli actually sat on the elf's legs.

Fortunately, such restraint proved to be unnecessary since the elf did not wake while the man used his smaller knife to slit an x in the chest's skin around the arrow shaft in order to make it easier to remove. Nor did he stir when Aragorn carefully pulled it back out the way it went in.

Up until that moment, he had assumed the Mordor orcs had made the black arrows. However, his trained Ranger eyes quickly noticed the elvish finesse in the workmanship under the crudely applied black paint.

Now he knew orcs often reequipped themselves from those they had slain. However, this arrow continued to give him the opposite impression, which meant its owner either was an elf or a man the latter a better possibility than the former since no elf in his right mind would offer his services to Sauron.

"It's a double blessing that arrow missed hitting something vital along with his not feeling the pain from its removal too," Éomer said.

"I agree about the blessing for its location and I hope it is only that for the second. He has lost more blood than I like to see," Aragorn muttered as he swiftly set the arrow aside so he could used the wooden spoon to cover the wound with a good-sized mound of the warm poultice. This he tightly covered with a long length of white bandage from the medicinal supplies while Éomer helped to hold Legolas up and Gimli slipped out the remaining back pieces.

After that, he turned his attention to second arrow in Legolas' right shoulder. Only then did he realize his friend's shot at the troll had required supreme effort on his friend's part to move his arm since that arrow had hindered its full range of motion. Then he proceeded in its removal, setting it aside, and the placing of the poultice in the same manner as he had done for the first. Again, Éomer held the elf up during the bandaging process.

"Now what do we do?" Pippin asked after the man handed him back the now empty cauldron.

"We wait to see if the poultice stops his bleeding," the man said simply while he glanced down at Legolas' pale face before he picked up the second arrow. When he saw it was, identical in make to the first he was not surprised. What did surprise him was the greenish-gold color on the arrow's shaft after he carefully used his smaller knife to scrape off some of the poorly applied black paint.

Instantly, he recognized that as the same coloration on the Lorien arrows the Lady Galadriel had also gifted Legolas with after she gave him his bow.

Suddenly Aragorn felt very uneasy at it now implying some sort of alliance between the two enemies against Legolas.

As if confirming his thought several carrion crows began to caw raucously, while flying overhead.


	3. Chapter 3 Reunited

**Two Black Arrows**

**Chapter 3 – Reunited**

"The eagles are back! The eagles are back! And they have Frodo and Sam!" Merry cried out excitedly, which gave Aragorn the cover he needed to stash the two black arrows in a tangled patch of undergrowth since it turned the focus of attention skyward. Later when he had the chance to do so in private, he would show them to Gandalf and ask if his initial implication of an allegiance was accurate.

In the meantime, the wizard in question had slid off the back of his eagle and landed on his feet with surprising grace for a man his age after the huge raptor had done so itself. Once it was airborne, again the wizard then deftly caught Frodo when the second eagle released the carefully cradled hobbit from its clawed foot as it glided low over his head.

"They are alive but in desperate need of your healing skills. Especially where a ring finger had once been on Frodo's hand and the large bump on the back of Sam's head," Gandalf said to Aragorn as he handed the weakly smiling Frodo over to the man.

"Strider!" the hobbit then gasped out as happily as one could be after surviving a volcano's violent eruption.

"It's good to see you again Frodo!" the man replied just as happily, while he quickly glanced at the hobbit's bloody finger stub. "Where is Gollum?" he next asked Gandalf who now held a similarly delivered Sam in his arms.

"The stinker is dead and good riddance!" the gardener croaked out so fervently that it caused him to cough a few times. "He and the Ring ended up in the fires of Mount Doom thanks to Mr. Frodo."

"Sam that isn't necessary," a now tensed Frodo begged as if he felt ashamed about it, which made Aragorn wonder why.

"The two of you can tell us all about your brave efforts later at your leisure. Right now you need tending and I suspect a good hot meal too," he then said as a way to change the subject so the hobbit would relax which worked.

Again, the soon to be King had no lack of helpers to fulfill his requests when he next began the process of tending to the hobbits by having two of the found bed rolls placed a few feet away from the pale and unconscious Legolas and a clean cauldron with water placed one over the fire.

"What happened to Legolas?" Frodo asked now upset over that while the man laid him gently down on the closest to the stricken elf.

"He was wounded while we fought a diversionary battle before the Black Gates…"

"Mr. Frodo now we know why Sauron's eye suddenly looked away from us when it did!" Sam excitedly interrupted like someone making a new discovery just as Gandalf grandfatherly deposited him next to the former ring bearer.

"Yes Sam it does…First Boromir and now Legolas…all of this because of me…" Frodo began disjointedly and regretfully.

"Now Frodo don't you go blaming yourself. The Fellowship knew from the beginning what the risks were when we pledged to help you. Besides Legolas is still with us and that is a good sign the devilry that fell him this day has not won yet," Aragorn firmly injected although the latter he was not so sure of himself.

Then he had an additional fire built for the fixing of a meal for the two injured hobbits.

"No hobbit sized celebratory feast. Just something, that is simple and filling. I have a good hunch Frodo and Sam have gone for sometime without eating and we don't want to make them sick with too much too soon," he gently teased and warned Merry and Pippin after they had expressed their eagerness in its fixing.

"Begging your pardon but please no lembas bread for me. I've lost my taste for it," Sam added.

"You're in luck! We do not have any lembas bread but we do have…" Pippin eagerly replied but he stopped and a look of disappointed disbelief appeared on his face when he looked into the bag of food after Éomer had handed him. Something he had the presence of mind to include when he brought the medicinal supplies.

"Come on Pip! What do we have?" Merry prodded verbally.

"Plain porridge. That's it," the younger hobbit finally said.

"You have got to be kidding!" Merry exclaimed. "We had apples and smoked meat…"

"Had is the operative word thanks to the Orcs," Gandalf reminded.

"Plain porridge will work. It is filling and not hard on the stomach," Aragorn pointed out.

"But you cannot eat it without cream and sugar! Otherwise it tastes like wall paper paste!" Pippin bemoaned.

"Hobbits!" Gandalf sighed while shaking his head disapprovingly.

Up until now, Gimli had remained silent since his attention torn between staying alongside Legolas and keeping an eye on the elf which he had taken upon himself to do and his desire to jump up and to happily embrace the rescued hobbits.

Suddenly his stout heart filled with fear and actually skipped a beat when next he returned his attention to Legolas.

"Aragorn, Laddie isn't breathing!" he then cried out in alarm since the elf had continued until now to gasp for breath even though the arrow in his chest no longer resided there.

Instantly, this drew the man to the still elf's side and after a swift but sure check for signs of life, he sighed out in relief and relaxed.

"Legolas is still alive Gimli. What you saw was his returning to a normal way of breathing."

Sure enough, the elf's chest now rose and fell in a steady movement and his breathing made no sound at all.

"I'm sorry Aragorn for causing you undue worry. He just looked…" the sheepish dwarf began but stopped when the man bade him to do so by holding up his hand.

"Like he was dead," the man finished for him. "It scared me too the first time I saw it happening although in that case it was to one of the Dúnadan rangers under my care. And speaking of care, Frodo and Sam could use some now so let us not make them wait any longer!"


End file.
